This invention relates generally to floor and wall installation, and more particularly to the construction of tiled floors and walls.
Tiles have been used since ancient times to produce decorative and highly attractive floors and walls. Tiles are also quite useful in producing surfaces which are waterproof or highly water-resistant, and easy to clean, and therefore very desirable for bathrooms and kitchens.
Some of the most beautiful tile work is formed from irregular pieces of tile or glass set by hand by artists to form mosaics of incredible detail. However, such works are very time consuming to produce, and are therefore well beyond the means of most consumers. Accordingly, most tile floors and walls are installed as quickly as possible, using standard rectangular tiles. Not infrequently, consumers themselves will attempt tile installation with little or no prior instruction to keep costs down.
Tile installation is fairly straight forward. The surface to be tiled is cleaned to remove any bumps or surface irregularities, so that a substantially clean, flat surface is produced. The surface is coated with a slow-curing adhesive composition, referred to in the trade as xe2x80x9cmud.xe2x80x9d A straight edge, chalk line or laser is used at one edge of the surface for aligning the first row of tiles, then the remaining tiles are aligned with respect to the first row of tiles. When it is desired to shift Each tile is spaced away from each adjacent tile by a desired gap. Once the mud is cured, the gap between the tiles is filled with grout. When complete, the lines of grout most desirably produce straight lines of consistent width. Getting the tiles aligned so that the grout in the finished installation is straight and of consistent width is clearly the most difficult and time consuming task, and is the most frequent cause of a poor or unacceptable looking tile installation.
Accordingly, the need exists for a tile spacer which can be used with ease by a skilled worker or an amateur to produce a tiled floor or wall which looks like a professional installation.
In one embodiment, the present invention provides a spacer for aligning tiles with respect to each other, the spacer having a spacer body and a handle for pushing the spacer body into, and removing the spacer body from, the gap between adjacent tiles, the spacer in the form of a cross of predetermined thickness made from a material sufficiently rigid to prevent substantial deformation by the tiles, the cross having a center and four arms extending outwardly from the center, each arm positioned at an angle of substantially ninety degrees from each adjacent arm, each said arm having a predetermined width equal to the desired spacing between adjacent tiles, each said arm having a bottom surface with a substantially flat portion for engaging the substantially flat surface to be tiled, each said arm also having a first side surface in a plane perpendicular to the bottom surface and a second side surface opposite said first side surface also in a plane perpendicular to the bottom surface, the first and second side surfaces having a substantially flat portion for engaging and aligning the facing edges of adjacent tiles.
In yet another embodiment, the present invention provides a spacer for aligning tiles with respect to each other, the spacer having a spacer body in the form of a cross of predetermined thickness made from a material sufficiently rigid to prevent substantial deformation by the tiles, the cross having a center and four arms extending outwardly from the center, each arm positioned at an angle of substantially ninety degrees from each adjacent arm, each said arm having a predetermined width equal to the desired spacing between adjacent tiles, each said arm having a bottom surface with a substantially flat portion for engaging the substantially flat surface to be tiled, and a groove connecting diagonally opposed intersections between adjacent arms through said center for forming a raised bead of predetermined shape in an adhesive layer in which the tiles are laid during the construction of the tile floor. A handle may be provided to permit easy insertion and removal of the spacer, and manipulation of the tiles while the adhesive remains workable.
In yet another embodiment, the present invention includes a method for installing tiles using a tile spacer of the present invention;
In yet another embodiment, the present invention includes a point of sale display for displaying a variety of different sizes of tile spacers to consumers who wish to attempt a tile floor installation without professional assistance, the tile spacers being color coded so that consumers can select the tile spacer which will produce the desired spacing between adjacent tiles by selecting tile spacers of the correct color.
Other and further objects, features, advantages and embodiments of the present invention will become apparent to one skilled in the art from reading the Detailed Description of the Invention together with the drawings.